


would ya bail me out if I need it?

by dyoxyys



Series: Toph and Katara are Ecoactivists and Bato and Hakoda are Tired [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Adoption (mentioned), First Dates, First Meetings, Hakoda (Avatar) is a Good Parent, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Meet-Cute, Mindless Fluff, Veteran Bato
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25554061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dyoxyys/pseuds/dyoxyys
Summary: Most of the time, having to bail your teen daughter out of jail (again) would constitute a bad day. This was decidedly not most times.Bakoda Fleet Week Day One: Modern AU (+) With Kids
Relationships: Bato/Hakoda (Avatar)
Series: Toph and Katara are Ecoactivists and Bato and Hakoda are Tired [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1861474
Comments: 21
Kudos: 203
Collections: Bakoda Fleet Week 2020





	would ya bail me out if I need it?

Hakoda was insanely proud of his daughter, he really was. Even at fifteen, she was a brave and outspoken individual. She (snuck out and) went to protests, she ran activism accounts on social media, she was even dating a boy with a weird fascination with ecoterrorism. 

None of that was a problem.

The problem is she kept getting herself arrested. 

For the third time this month, he was driving down to the precinct to pick his baby girl up after she called him, talking about, “Hey, Dad, they arrested me again, which is such  _ bullshit _ , all I was doing was protesting the building of a stupid factory, I don’t know what their fuckin problem is, like, yes I punched a cop, but did you ever think maybe  _ they  _ were disrupting the peace-” and honestly if he was a different parent, he might be a bit more bothered by her cussing. There are worse things to cuss over, though.

The guy at the desk knew him immediately as the eco-activist girl’s dad. She really needed to stop giving him reasons to be on first-name basis with the police. 

He was handed the same paperwork as usual and sent to sit in the same waiting area. What wasn’t the same was the man sitting and filling out his own paperwork. 

He wasn’t unattractive. That was for sure. So Hakoda decided, fuck it, he would strike up a conversation. In the police precinct. While trying to get his daughter out of jail.  _ Again. _

“So, you here to bail someone out, too?” Goddammit. What kind of thing was that to say. Sokka would be so ashamed of him. 

Surprisingly, the man answered. “Yeah, actually, my daughter, she got arrested for like, being a good person or something?” 

Hakoda laughed. Now that was a familiar feeling. “Weird, I’m here for my daughter, too. Hi, I’m Hakoda,” he introduced himself, sticking out a hand. The man shook it, grinning.

“I’m Bato. This… Isn’t the first time Toph has gotten thrown in here, she’s very outspoken when she wants to be.”

“Katara, too! This is, like, the third time this month she’s been arrested for protesting pollution or something.” He sat down across from the man- Bato- to fill his paperwork out. 

From there, the conversation was easy. They talked about why their kids were in jail (they attended the same protest), how they’re infinitely proud of their daughters, but how bail funds aren’t cheap. Hakoda told him about his son, who was a handful but had never gotten arrested at the very least. 

Bato’s daughter, it turned out, was only a year younger than Katara. She snuck out regularly to graffiti corporation buildings and protest anything she found unjust. It sounded like she and Katara would get on swimmingly. 

When Katara was finally brought out, still in cuffs, glaring at the officer escorting her, Hakoda found he almost didn’t want to leave. The second her cuffs were off, she was running up to him and hugging him and muttering about how fighting for the world shouldn't be a criminal activity, and he was holding her so tight, not willing to admit that every time she got locked up, he feared he'd lose her forever-

And then there was a piece of paper being pressed into his hand. He looked up and saw that it was Bato who had given him the paper, and upon examination, it was a paper with Bato's phone number. 

Huh. That was… unexpected. 

He smiled over at the man, and the man mouthed  _ Call me _ at him right before his own daughter, talking casually about dismantling the police while being escorted by some very tired looking officers, was released to him, and then they were no longer two men with teen daughters in jail, they were back to being dads, so Hakoda just nodded at him before letting Katara lead him out, still stomping and fuming. 

\--

He did end up utilizing the number later, after Katara had gone up to her room to call her boyfriend. He didn't call, calling felt too presumptuous, he just sent a text. 

_ 'Hey, it's Hakoda, y'know, from the precinct?' _

He didn't expect a response, and certainly not one within an hour, but Bato was full of surprises, apparently. 

_ 'hey! sorry if giving you my number was too forward, its just. i might be reading this wrong but you didnt mention a spouse and tophs always telling me to "shoot my shot" so'  _

Well. That was something. 

Apparently he took too long to respond, though, because that text was quickly followed up by: 

_ 'shit im sorry you can ignore that if you want i didnt mean to be like, weird' _

The handsome nice man was apologizing to him for, what, flirting? Is that what it was?

_ 'No don't be sorry!! I don't have a spouse anymore, you weren't being weird, and I'd love to get drinks with you some time if you're interested in that?' _

It was risky, he knew, but if he was reading the situation right (and he usually was), his offer was reasonable. 

This theory was proven when his phone chimed with a text reading:

_ 'yes absolutely i would be interested in that just name the time and place but not on tuesday or thursday because toph has martial arts those days'  _

So. Definitely a date, right? It's times like this when he wished he had friends his own age to talk about this with. Usually, he'd just ask Sokka, but he was staying the night at Zuko's, so he was shit out of luck. 

_ 'Not to sound like I don't have a life, but how about tomorrow evening? I have work until 6 but after that I'm free?' _

He got a confirmation text very quickly after that and they smoothed out the details of when and where. In the span of twenty minutes, his day had gone from just okay to fucking fantastic. 

\--

The bar in question was ten minutes from his house and he didn't have to be there until 7:30, so he had plenty of time to worry about his appearance. 

"Is a tie too loud, or should I just wear the seafoam shirt and roll the sleeves up?" 

Katara was clearly holding back laughter from her perch on his bed. "Chill out, Dad, you sound like a teenager. Just wear the short-sleeved shirt with the blue and the strawberries and your black slacks." 

He followed her instructions, ducking into his walk-in closet to change before walking out in his best impression of a runway model. "Does this look say 'I'm a responsible dad but I'm also fun to be around and also I don't think this is just a friend thing?'" 

He thanks his lucky stars every day that his children were blessed with Kya's tolerance for his ridiculousness. 

Katara reassured him that he looked fine, promised to try not to get arrested that particular night, and got him to tell Sokka to do the dishes before he could get out the door and into his car. 

Of course, there was the ever-present fear in his gut of "what if this isn't a date what if this is just a, like, single dad friend thing, what if he's straight, what if-" and then he was pulling into the parking lot and had to push all the fears down. 

It didn't take him long to spot Bato after walking into the bar. He was the tallest man in the establishment, after all. The moment he saw the man, he knew he definitely hadn't read the situation wrong, judging by his carefully styled hair and ironed shirt that fit so goddamn nicely over his chest.

He hadn't been on a date in- fuck, at least ten years, not since before Kya died, and he hadn't been on a  _ first _ date in almost twenty. He couldn't remember any of the etiquette, he didn't know if etiquette changed if both participants are single parents, he had absolutely no clue as to if he was under or overdressed, but he put on a brave face and walked over to Bato anyway. 

Bato, at the present moment, was focused on his phone and didn't notice Hakoda walking up and sitting at the barstool next to him. Unwilling to not be the center of attention at every moment, Hakoda bumped his shoulder against Bato's and said, "Hey, you come here often?" with enough of a cheeky grin that his teasing was blatant. 

Immediately upon being alerted of Hakoda's presence, Bato turned his phone off and pocketed it. "No, not really, just when handsome men ask me to come," he replied smoothly. If Hakoda were a weaker man, he may have died right there and then. 

The date was surprisingly easy. Conversation flowed easily between them and the drinks they decided to partake in had a responsibly low alcohol content. Their complete lack of inebriation didn't stop them from growing flirtier and bolder, though. An hour into the date, Hakoda had laughed at a (barely even comedic) joke Bato had made and leaned easily into his side, placing a hand on the taller man's thigh to steady himself. 

Everything just felt so  _ easy _ with Bato. It didn't hurt as much as it usually did to tell him why he was a single parent, how his wife had died over eight years ago. It stung, it would probably always sting, but the comforting hand on his arm didn't feel pitiful, just understanding. 

Bato had freely given his own story. He told Hakoda how he had gotten the burns up and down his arm while doing active duty, how he had been discharged after a bomb nearly killed him, how that was fifteen years ago so he's fine, now, it rarely ever burns anymore. He told Hakoda that he had never had a partner, that he had adopted Toph when she was nine and ready to fight the world, starting with the assholes who raised her, how it had just been him and Toph for the last five years, despite Toph's constant attempts to meddle with her dad's personal life. Honestly, Bato had admitted, he was half convinced she had gotten herself arrested as an elaborate ploy to get him to meet Hakoda. 

Hakoda tried not to feel flattered by the idea. 

It hit him like a ton of bricks two hours into the date that he hadn't felt this at ease with any other human being since Kya. A couple of years ago, that might have made him feel guilty, but now he just felt at peace. He was ready to move on and his kids had already given him the go-ahead, so there was nothing to pull at his conscious. It's incredible what years of therapy can do for a grieving widow. 

He told Bato about his job as an EMT in as little detail as possible, very aware that most people feel sick hearing about the things he has to face while on duty. Bato, in turn, told Hakoda that he was a lobster fisherman, which Hakoda assured him sounded cool as fuck. Going out on a boat and spending the days on the water? Hakoda hadn't been off land in so long he feared he had lost his sea legs. 

At the end of the night, the walked outside together and kissed on the sidewalk. Hakoda pointedly did not think about how long it had been since he had been kissed. As much as Katara had teased him about acting like a teen, though, the kiss was just that. A brief moment that Hakoda would think about until he saw Bato again, and then they parted ways. The date may have made him feel young again, but he still had kids to get home to and a shift early the next morning. 

\--

Two years had passed from that date when Hakoda found himself at a ring shop, Katara at his side. It was scary, thinking about proposing again, about putting himself out there and risking loss once more. It wasn’t even the risk of rejection that scared him, it was the idea of tying himself to another person who might go and die on him.

Even so, here he was, buying a simple band that he would get engraved with the date they met. Yeah, it’s cheesy, but who gives a shit, Bato would like it. 

Their relationship had been perfect since day one. Their kids got along and approved, they all but lived together, and they weren’t getting any younger, so why wait? It’s not like a proposal would be out of the blue, they had talked about marriage and their future countless times. They both understood that their future was intertwined, so it wasn’t that preposterous for Hakoda to want to seal that mutually understood promise with a vow. 

So he bought a ring and proposed.

It wasn’t a big proposal, there was no fanfare or fancy dinner, just the two of them at home doing dishes. The original plan had included candles, a rooftop, and pasta, but seeing Bato with his hands covered in soap, standing at Hakoda’s sink and talking about a project he was helping Katara with, Hakoda couldn’t keep from dropping to one knee. 

He didn’t need a big speech but he gave one anyway, as soon as Bato turned around and noticed him.

“Bato, before I met you, I was convinced I would never get another great love. You prove me wrong every day. You’ve become a second father to Sokka and Katara, and I hope I have become the same to Toph. We both know neither of us are planning on throwing this away, and I know we don’t need legal documents to signify what we mean to each other, but I love you, I can’t and won’t stop loving you, and I want to marry you.”

He wasn’t crying, really, there had been onions on the cutting board he had just washed. 

Bato said yes, which didn’t surprise Hakoda but still filled him to the brim with joy. 

The ceremony wasn’t big. Hakoda had done the big white wedding, he had no pull to do it again, and Bato had no extended family to put on a show for. A simple procession in their backyard with their kids and Hakoda’s mother was all either of them really wanted.

They didn’t need rings and legal documents to prove their love, but it was nice.

Plus, it came in handy when Toph and Katara got themselves arrested a mere week after the wedding and needed a legal guardian to bail them out.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please remember to comment/kudos/whatever if you liked it! 
> 
> As always, you can find me on tumblr at [dyoxyys](%E2%80%9Ddyoxyys.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D)!


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